Success Stories

I must say Geel is the best thing that has ever happened to me. They gave me an apartment at an affordable price, with new furniture. They also provide support services. For example, they made sure I have a smoke detector, fire extinguisher, etc. And they have case managerial visits, to make sure you need anything and that you're alright. They're concerned with our safety. I would recommend Geel to anyone suffering from mental illness that needs housing. We are a family here.

"Thank you to Tony and Geel Staff for all the help I have received while living at Geel. I was awarded by my employer on 9/9/2023 for my 10 years of service as a Peer Specialist. I credit the Award of Achievement to the support and help I’ve received from Tony and the Geel Staff. I have come such a long way since joining Geel Supportive Housing 10 years ago. The support I've received from Tony and his excellent staff has been vital to my stability, recovery and growth as a person. I am deeply grateful".

My name is Arturo Soto, a GEEL tenant going on twenty years. Thanks to GEEL I live in a beautiful parkland area with friendly neighbors allowing me to get out instead of isolating as i have most of my life. Thanks to GEEL I have worked on and off for the first time since the 1980s. GEEL has motivated me to visit family in Florida taking my first plane ride in my life. Staff have dropped off comforters and a heater during a blizzard. They have installed an air conditioner which has made a very positive difference in my quality of life. Thanks to GEEL I have made many trusted friends giving me a strong sense of an extended family. During my Covid hospitalization staff called me every day including weekends to see how i was doing. Thank you GEEL for making a positive influential difference in my life.

I was accepted to Geel Community Services SRO at Union Ave on 3/10/2011. Geel has helped and provided me with a safe living place that I can call my own. The staff are always there to help, assist and guide me when I don’t know how to do things. Geel has provided me a lot of opportunities and has given me my first ever ChromeBook, in which I’m learning how to navigate the internet system with the help of the staff. I am very grateful and thankful for all the blessings.

“Geel Community Services provides me so many opportunities and encouragement in achieving my goals, including having provided me with the opportunity to work gainfully at Geel as a Maintenance Worker/Porter for the last 10 years. The staff has supported me throughout my journey as a resident and also as a co-worker and colleague in hard times and good times. I look forward to continuing my employment and residency with Geel.”

I believe that GEEL is one, if not the greatest housing organization for Dually Diagnosed Individuals. In this housing, I have been able to live a healthier, better and happier life. With their support, I have been able to get closer to my family and friends, God, and enjoy the things that I treasure. I do not believe that life is at all easy, but GEEL is a little bit of light in a dark chaotic universe. Thank you to GEEL for allowing me to have housing that is good and healthy for me. It feels liberating to be free from drugs and being able to better deal with my mental health problems. Their continued support help enable me to survive and thrive day to day. For as they say, it is just one day at a time Sincerely, Robert Allan Powell

The service in Geel is excellent and the counselors treat you with respect. Additionally, Geel takes you on trips every month on Saturdays and provides food every month during Monday meetings. I enjoy many different weekly activities, for example playing bingo. I am satisfied with the service that Geel provides and support I receive at Geel.

Hi my name is Ivan Dejesus and I am a resident at Geel community services at 706 Union Ave in the Bronx. Prior to moving into Geel I lived at Blake Ave men’s shelter in Brooklyn were I lived for eight months.
After the eight months I was given a much deserved upgrade from the shelter environment to a beautiful studio apartment at Geel. Moving into Geel Community services and living on my own for the first time was a little scary but, the staff here welcomed me with open arms. I am so grateful for the opportunity to be able become independent, and happy to say I have been working as a home health aide for almost four years taking care of my mom.
I never dreamed that I would be living on my own, paying my own bills or even having a job. The staff here are professional and make sure that we have everything that we need and make sure we are on our p’s and q’s.
Thank you Geel for supporting and always being there for me.

Four months prior to coming to Geel Community Services for housing, I was in homeless shelter due to mental health and physical issues preventing me from working. My goal was to get permanent housing. I was accepted to Geel East 162nd Street for housing on July 15th, 2016 not knowing what I was getting into. When given the rules and understanding the way Geel Community Services was operating, it was a sigh of relief because I knew I could get medical, mental health and whatever other services I needed while I reside here.
Residing here for seven years, I have achieved mostly all the goals that I need to as it pertains to physical and mental health. It first started off with the staff members here because at the time when I moved here, Geel East 162nd street staff facilitated onsite groups that I attended consistently to help educated me on areas in my life that needed to improve. For example, socialization group, budgeting group, MICA counseling group, physical therapy group and understanding what it is to be a productive member in the community. I also served as the president of the Tenant Advisory Committee Group providing a bridge of communication from tenants to staff voicing concerns, opinions and suggestion on how to improve the program.
Today I see myself as a great example of what it means to have these types of programs in our communities.

It has been ten years since I have been in Geel. The first seven years, I was living with two roommates. With the assistance of Tony Guarino, Supportive Housing Director, I was able to transition to an independent living situation. I am very grateful and thank God and Tony for bringing me here to Geel Community Services. It has been peaceful, relaxing, and I have been relieved of so many traumas. Living on my own has been wonderful. I feel at home in my house. Every day is a blessing. I want to thank Geel for providing me with care packages. I received new furniture, air conditioner, a fan and other items.
Geel has taught me the importance of independence and made me who I am today, which is a happy individual. It’s a miracle and a blessing. I really want to thank Kimberly Smothers-Mbye for her encouragement and assistance in helping me move to an independent living situation. I enjoy Geel Double Trouble in Recovery Meetings and Tenant Advisory Board meetings where I get to voice my opinions.

My name is Davis Michael Emille. I am 60 yrs. I have been a resident at Geel Grand Avenue Studios since April of 2011. I am physically disabled due to two automobile accidents that have resulted in injuries to my upper middle and lower spinal column. I am also afflicted with PTSD. These all started when I was twenty-six years and six months old. Homelessness and unemployment was a natural outcome of my illnesses. I have lived in NJ, VA, DC, MD and NY while dealing with these issues. The resources available to assist one like myself were finally found in NY.
In Geel, I have found stability in housing. This enabled me to enjoy peace of mind to focus on physical and mental recovery.
The resources provided by this organization restored a sense of normalcy and hope for me. The word home took on a pleasant and familiar meaning again. The Social outings helped to restore trust in society which seemed to have abandoned me before as I languished in unemployment and homelessness. Activities provided on a weekly basis like workshops, art therapy, Bingo ect, transformed me from a recluse to a social butterfly. My personal time was put to productive use. In 2017 I attended Rutgers University School of Health Professions online as well as Howie T Harp Peer Specialist Academy and graduated with distinction as a Certified Peer Specialist for State of NY. I also found employment at Community Access Inc, a non-profit organization based in NY,NY. There I held the positions of Peer Advocate and Peer Bridger. Those positions involved working with the mentally ill to assist in reintroduction to living independently in local communities. Advocacy for the mentally ill was done at a state, local, national and institutional levels to secure all manner of services and resources needed for a smooth transaction to independent living in the community of their choice. The more resources the organization, Geel, and its efficient staff provided, the more my world blossomed into my ideal of life at this stage. My time has also been invested with personal development. I will always advocate for and recommend Geel or any similar service organization to those who need it. My life has truly been transformed by my participation in the Geel program and I am forever grateful. The staff has made this transition possible with their client centered approach and they should be highly commended.

Things I appreciate about the last 18 years I have lived in Geel Community Services, Inc. supportive housing (2 years in apartment treatment program and 16 years in Bedford scattered-site housing)
Amazing staff and case managers
Help transitioning me from a psychiatric hospitalization to living (with roommates) in the community
Monthly socialization events
Help with repairs
Monthly tenant’s meetings
Encouragement to volunteer/go back to work/go back to school
Having a 24/7 emergency number (great for my family too)
Help throughout the pandemic (knowledge about PPE and vaccines)
Making sure I go to my therapist and psychiatrist (and other appointments such as nutritionist)
Help for med-compliance so less symptoms from bipolar disorder and PTSD Smoking cessation program
Substance use program should I need it
Cooking classes
Fire safety trainings
Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners (even during pandemic)
Gift cards
Home goods
Help with SSD/SSI/HRA
Required annual physical and psychiatric evaluation
Assistance with hospital visits (escort for colonoscopy and cataract surgery)
Staff calls before heat waves/blizzards
Fire extinguisher maintenance
Friendly staff and case managers
Providing a feeling of safety and security; that my supportive housing isn’t just housing, it is my home.
16 years participating in the NAMI-NYC (National Alliance on Mental Illness) yearly walk to end stigma related to mental illness!!!
Thank you, Tony, and everyone at Geel!